Author summary Most fungal RNA viruses are transmitted by cytoplasmic interchange without leaving the host. We report the cryo-electron microscopy structure, at near-atomic resolution, of the double-stranded RNA Rosellinia necatrix quadrivirus 1 (RnQV1); this virus infects the fungus Rosellinia necatrix, a pathogenic ascomycete to a wide range of plants. At difference most dsRNA viruses, whose capsid is made of protein homodimers, RnQV1 is based on a single-shelled lattice built of 60 P2-P4 heterodimers. Despite a lack of sequence similarity, P2 and P4 have a similar α-helical domain, a structural signature shared with the dsRNA virus lineage. In addition to organizing the viral genome and replicative machinery, P2 and P4 have acquired new functions by inserting complex domains in preferential insertion sites. Whereas the P2 insertion domain has a fold like that of actin-binding proteins, the structure of the P4 insertion domain indicates proteolytic activity. Understanding the structure of a fungal virus capsid with enzyme activities could allow its development as nanoreactors for biotechnological application.

What is the Marburg virus and why is it considered dangerous? The Marburg virus is probably most easily introduced as the sister of the infamous Ebola virus. The viruses are similar in their genetic and structural makeup, they’re transmitted from human-to-human and their clinical presentation in humans is similar. But there are some marked differences. For example, apart from overlapping in two countries, they have been detected in different parts of the African continent. Marburg virus has been reported in sporadic outbreaks in eastern and southern Africa – including Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola. A case of Marburg virus disease in South Africa was traced back to potential exposure in Zimbabwe. For its part, Ebola has also been reported in the DRC and Uganda, as well as Sudan, Gabon, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. There are also differences in the natural ecology of the two viruses. Current evidence supports the hypothesis of circulation of Marburg virus in cave dwelling bats such as Rousettus aegyptiacus (or Egyptian fruit bat), while most believe that the Ebola virus are associated with forest dwelling bat species.

The strain of avian influenza detected in wild and domestic birds in Uganda recently is the same virus that has spread through Asia and Europe over the past four months. Revealed as the H5N8 avian influenza strain, it is thought to have spread across continents via wild migratory birds. In Africa, aside from Uganda, the H5N8 outbreak has also been recorded in Nigeria and Tunisia this year. The risk of humans being infected by H5N8 is low, but should this happen, the virus can cause severe illness and death. Since the outbreak in Uganda was reported, a number of East African countries have increased their monitoring while the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania have imposed a ban on poultry from Uganda. But African countries face challenges in detecting such outbreaks because they have weak avian influenza surveillance systems.

Chinese scientists find all the genetic building blocks of SARS in a single population of horseshoe bats.

After a detective hunt across China, researchers chasing the origin of the deadly SARS virus have finally found their smoking gun. In a remote cave in Yunnan province, virologists have identified a single population of horseshoe bats that harbours virus strains with all the genetic building blocks of the one that jumped to humans in 2002, killing almost 800 people around the world. The killer strain could easily have arisen from such a bat population, the researchers report in PLoS Pathogens1 on 30 November. They warn that the ingredients are in place for a similar disease to emerge again.

Don Dizon, MD of Massachusetts General Hospital discusses the use of immunotherapy in cervical cancer treatment. He explains a clinical trial where an HPV protein was used for treatment and although there was a low response rate, there was overall improvement of over 50%. This was recorded at the 2017 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO)’s Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer® in National Harbor, MD.

A chemical found in marijuana, known as tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has been found to potentially slow the process in which mental decline can occur in up to 50 percent of HIV patients, says a new study.

The World Health Organisation recently declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By the time the outbreak was contained, eight people had been infected. Four survived. The first patient diagnosed in the outbreak (the index case) – a middle aged man who died on his way to hospital - got ill in April. It’s not clear how he became infected. But those who helped transport him to the hospital also became sick. This outbreak had the second lowest number of patients among all the eight Ebola outbreaks in DRC since 1976. The last one in 2014 lasted for three months and three quarters of the 66 people diagnosed with the disease died. The outbreak was traced back to a pregnant woman who had slaughtered a monkey brought home by her husband. The disease spread when she underwent a traditional surgical operation after becoming ill.

The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on vaccine provision for yellow fever has provided 1.4 million vaccine doses for an immunization campaign that starts on Saturday (2 December) to help control an ongoing yellow fever outbreak in Nigeria.

Circoviruses are small viruses that can affect our canine companions. Researchers and veterinarians say the prevention and treatment of dog circovirus involves a large dose of common sense, yet the source of the illness and how it functions remain largely a mystery.

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